[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6172 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6172

    To amend title 18, United States Code, to prevent bulk sales of 
 ammunition, promote recordkeeping and reporting about ammunition, end 
ammunition straw purchasing, and require a background check before the 
  transfer of ammunition by certain Federal firearms licensees to non-
                               licensees.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 2, 2023

Mr. Robert Garcia of California (for himself and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 18, United States Code, to prevent bulk sales of 
 ammunition, promote recordkeeping and reporting about ammunition, end 
ammunition straw purchasing, and require a background check before the 
  transfer of ammunition by certain Federal firearms licensees to non-
                               licensees.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ammunition Modernization and 
Monitoring Oversight Act'' or the ``AMMO Act''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL LICENSE REQUIRED TO DEAL IN AMMUNITION.

    (a) In General.--Section 922(a)(1)(B) of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or licensed manufacturer'' and inserting 
        ``licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer''; and
            (2) by striking ``or manufacturing'' and inserting 
        ``manufacturing, or dealing in''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Definition of dealer.--Section 921(a)(11)(A) of such 
        title is amended by inserting ``or ammunition'' after 
        ``firearms''.
            (2) License fee.--Section 923(a)(3)(B) of such title is 
        amended by striking ``who is not a dealer in destructive 
        devices'' and inserting ``in firearms other than destructive 
        devices or ammunition for firearms other than destructive 
        devices''.

SEC. 3. AMMUNITION RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN LICENSEES.

    Section 923(g)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``or ammunition'' 
        after ``firearms''; and
            (2) in each of subparagraphs (B)(iii) and (C)(ii), by 
        inserting ``, or of ammunition,'' after ``firearms''.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON STRAW PURCHASE OF AMMUNITION.

    Section 932 of title 18, United States Code, is amended in each of 
subsections (b) and (c)(2), by inserting ``or ammunition'' after 
``firearm'' each place it appears.

SEC. 5. RESTRICTION ON BULK AMMUNITION SALES.

    (a) In General.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(aa)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person licensed under this 
chapter to transfer to a person not so licensed--
            ``(A) more than 100 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition or 
        more than 1,000 rounds of any other caliber of ammunition in 
        any period of 5 consecutive days; or
            ``(B) any ammunition if--
                    ``(i) the transferee has not provided to the 
                transferor a written certification, signed by the 
                transferee, attesting that the purchase of the 
                ammunition would not result in the transferee having 
                acquired more than 100 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition 
                or more than 1,000 rounds of any other caliber of 
                ammunition, in the 5-day period ending with the date of 
                the transfer; or
                    ``(ii) the transferor knows or has reason to 
                believe that the transfer would result in the 
                transferee having acquired more than 100 rounds of .50 
                caliber ammunition or more than 1,000 rounds of any 
                other caliber of ammunition, in the 5-day period ending 
                with the date of the transfer.
    ``(2)(A) It shall be unlawful for a person licensed under this 
chapter to transfer ammunition to a person not so licensed, unless the 
transferee--
            ``(i) has presented to the licensee a valid identification 
        document (as defined in section 1028(d)) on which appears--
                    ``(I) the name and address of the transferee;
                    ``(II) a number unique to the transferee; and
                    ``(III) the signature of the transferee; and
            ``(ii) has entered the name, address, and signature of the 
        transferee on, and otherwise completed, such form as the 
        Attorney General shall prescribe, which shall include the 
        written certification described in paragraph (1)(B), and a 
        statement of the penalties for violating this subsection.
    ``(B) It shall be unlawful for any person in connection with the 
purchase or attempted purchase of ammunition to knowingly make any 
false or fictitious oral or written statement or to furnish or exhibit 
any false, fictitious, or misrepresented identification, intended or 
likely to deceive the seller with respect to any fact material to the 
lawfulness of the sale of the ammunition under this chapter.
    ``(C)(i) Within 30 calendar days after the date a person licensed 
under this chapter transfers ammunition in a transaction subject to 
paragraph (1), the licensee shall transmit to the Attorney General a 
paper or electronic copy of the form completed by the transferee 
pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
    ``(ii) The Attorney General shall determine, on the basis of the 
forms transmitted pursuant to clause (i) of this subparagraph, whether 
a transfer of ammunition has been made in violation of paragraph 
(1)(A).
    ``(iii) Within 60 days after receipt of a form pursuant to clause 
(i), the Attorney General shall destroy the form unless the form is 
needed in an ongoing bona fide criminal investigation or prosecution.
    ``(D) A licensee who transfers ammunition in a transaction subject 
to paragraph (1) shall keep the form referred to in subparagraph (C) of 
this paragraph in paper or electronic form for not fewer than 2 
years.''.
    (b) Penalties.--Section 924(a) of such title is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(9)(A) A person licensed under this chapter who knowingly 
violates paragraph (1) or (2)(A) of section 922(aa) shall be fined not 
less than $50,000 and not more than $250,000, and--
            ``(i) in the case of the 2nd such violation by the person, 
        the person shall be prohibited from selling a firearm or 
        ammunition for 60 days; or
            ``(ii) in the case of the 3rd such violation by the person, 
        all licenses issued to the person under this chapter shall be 
        revoked.
    ``(B) A person who knowingly violates section 922(aa)(2)(B) shall 
be--
            ``(i) fined not more than--
                    ``(I) $20,000, in the case of the 1st such 
                violation by the person; or
                    ``(II) $50,000, in the case of any subsequent such 
                violation by the person;
            ``(ii) imprisoned not more than 5 years; or
            ``(iii) both.
    ``(C) Whoever knowingly violates subparagraph (C)(i) or (D) of 
section 922(aa)(2) shall be fined not more than $10,000.''.
    (c) Signage Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--Section 923(g) of such title is amended by 
        adding at the end the following:
    ``(8) Each person licensed under this chapter shall post at the 
premises of the licensee subject to the license a sign on which there 
is set forth, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Attorney 
General--
            ``(A) a summary of paragraphs (1) and (2)(B) of section 
        922(aa), and the penalties for making false statements on a 
        written certification made pursuant to section 
        922(aa)(1)(B)(i); and
            ``(B) a summary of the provisions of section 932 relating 
        to ammunition, and the penalties for violating those 
        provisions.''.
            (2) Penalty.--Section 924 of such title is amended by 
        adding at the end the following:
    ``(q) Civil Penalty for Failure of Licensee To Post Sign About 
Restrictions on Ammunition Sales.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Civil penalty.--With respect to each 
                violation of section 923(g)(8) by a person licensed 
                under this chapter, the Attorney General may, after 
                notice and opportunity for hearing, subject the 
                licensee to a civil penalty in an amount equal to 
                $10,000.
                    ``(B) Review.--An action under this paragraph may 
                be reviewed only as provided under section 923(f).
            ``(2) Administrative remedies.--The imposition of a civil 
        penalty under paragraph (1) shall not preclude any 
        administrative remedy that is otherwise available to the 
        Attorney General.''.

SEC. 6. BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIRED BEFORE TRANSFER OF AMMUNITION BY 
              CERTAIN FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEES TO NON-LICENSEES.

    (a) In General.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (s) and redesignating subsection 
        (t) as subsection (s);
            (2) in subsection (s) (as so redesignated)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by inserting 
                ``indicating that the receipt of a firearm or 
                ammunition by such other person would not violate 
                subsection (g) or (n) of this section, or State, local, 
                or Tribal law'' before the semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (3)(C)(ii), by striking ``(as 
                defined in subsection (s)(8))''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(7) In this subsection, the term `chief law enforcement officer' 
means the chief of police, the sheriff, or an equivalent officer or the 
designee of any such individual.''; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (s) (as so redesignated) 
        the following:
    ``(t)(1) A licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed 
dealer shall not transfer ammunition to another person not licensed 
under this chapter, unless--
            ``(A) before the completion of the transfer, the licensee 
        contacts the national instant criminal background check system 
        established under section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence 
        Prevention Act;
            ``(B) the system provides the licensee with a unique 
        identification number indicating that--
                    ``(i) the receipt of a firearm or ammunition by 
                such other person would not violate subsection (g) or 
                (n) of this section, or State, local, or Tribal law; 
                and
                    ``(ii) if such other person has not attained 21 
                years of age, that a transfer of a firearm or 
                ammunition to such other person would not violate 
                subsection (d) of this section; and
            ``(C) the licensee has verified the identity of such other 
        person by examining a valid identification document (as defined 
        in section 1028(d) of this title) of such other person 
        containing a photograph of such other person.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an ammunition transfer 
between a licensee and another person if--
            ``(A) such other person has presented to the licensee a 
        permit that--
                    ``(i) allows such other person to possess or 
                acquire ammunition, or to possess or acquire a firearm; 
                and
                    ``(ii) was issued not more than 5 years earlier by 
                the State in which the transfer is to take place; and
            ``(B) the law of the State provides that such a permit is 
        to be issued only after an authorized government official has 
        verified that the information available to such official does 
        not indicate that possession of ammunition by such other person 
        would be in violation of law.
    ``(3) Paragraphs (2) and (4) through (7) of subsection (s) shall 
apply with respect to ammunition transfers pursuant to this subsection 
in the same manner in which such paragraphs apply with respect to 
firearm transfers.
    ``(4) It shall be unlawful for a licensed importer, licensed 
manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer possession of ammunition 
to another person not so licensed unless the licensee has provided such 
other person with a notice of the prohibition under paragraph (1), and 
such other person has certified that such other person has been 
provided with this notice on a form prescribed by the Attorney 
General.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 922.--Section 922(y)(2) of title 18, United 
        States Code, is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A), by striking ``, (g)(5)(B), and (s)(3)(B)(v)(II)'' and 
        inserting ``and (g)(5)(B)''.
            (2) Consolidated and further continuing appropriations act, 
        2012.--Section 511 of title V of division B of the Consolidated 
        and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (34 U.S.C. 
        40901 note) is amended by striking ``subsection 922(t)'' each 
        place it appears and inserting ``subsection (s) or (t) of 
        section 922''.
    (c) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this section, or any 
amendment made by this section, shall be construed to--
            (1) authorize the establishment, directly or indirectly, of 
        a national firearms or ammunition registry; or
            (2) interfere with the authority of a State, under section 
        927 of title 18, United States Code, to enact a law on the same 
        subject matter as this section.
    (d) Authorization of Increased Funding for the NICS System.--In 
addition to any amount otherwise authorized to be appropriated for the 
background check system established under section 103 of the Brady 
Handgun Violence Prevention Act, there are authorized to be 
appropriated not more than $150,000,000 for upgrading and maintaining 
the system.

SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

    Within 6 months after the effective date of this Act and annually 
thereafter, the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, 
and Explosives shall prepare, publish in the Federal Register, and 
otherwise make available to the public a report on the violations of 
section 922(aa) of title 18, United States Code, that occurred during 
the period covered by the report, and the information reported pursuant 
to paragraph (2)(C) of such section (including geographic data, total 
sales data, crime statistics, information on repeat offenders, or 
caliber types involved) during the period covered by the report, which 
shall include an identification of any trend in the violations or 
information that Federal, State, or local law enforcement authorities 
may find useful.

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on 
the 120th day after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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